Blog Two on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

This is the second post in a series about the Sustainable Development Goals, a series of seventeen benchmarks for eradicating global poverty set by the United Nations in September 2015. UN member nations are partnering with NGOs, businesses, and individuals on the ground in the developing world to do the work and make sure these goals are met by 2030. Through our fair trade partnerships, Global Handmade Hope is working hard to alleviate global poverty, and we’re proud to be a part of this movement.

Today, we’ll discuss goals 4, 5, and 6.

GOAL FOUR: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.

Lack of access to education is one of the biggest obstacles to overcoming poverty for many people in the developing world. While the percentage of children enrolled in primary school is higher than ever before, 57 million children worldwide are not in school and 103 million lack literacy skills. Children living in Sub-Saharan are disproportionately affected. Through our fair trade partnerships with various producer groups we are able to provide sustainable wages to the artisans who make our products, and they are, in turn, able to afford the schools fees for their children. The artisans also receive workplace training in skills such as computer literacy, financial management, and other job-related skills. We believe that education truly is the pathway out of poverty, and we’re happy to support these initiatives.

GOAL FIVE: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

The United Nations states that “gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world,” and we wholeheartedly agree. There’s never been a better time to be born a female than today, but despite all the gains that have been made in the last several decades, women and girls often receive less education, are paid less for their work, hold less leadership roles, and do not have access to adequate healthcare - especially in parts of Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Global Handmade Hope’s partners’ actively works to combat the gender wage gap by employing women and empowering them to take on leadership roles in the workplace. As a result, the majority of the organizations that we work have leadership teams that are almost entirely female.

GOAL SIX: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all.

Despite the fact that there’s plenty of water on the planet to go around, 663 million people in developing countries lack access to clean drinking water for various reasons, including drought, poor infrastructure, and poverty. As a result, millions of people die from diseases related to lack of clean water, including more than 1000 children worldwide who die every single day from sanitation-related diarrheal diseases. That’s an alarming statistic, right? Some of our partners work in communities that are especially vulnerable to drought. Because of the sustainable income provided by our fair trade projects, the community has access to clean water and the community has a much lower rate of sanitation-related diseases than the national average.

We hope you are enjoying our series on the Sustainable Development Goals. We have a few more blogs yet to come. So, until next time we wish you a wonderful week and remember “you can be the change in the world you want to see” when you shop fair trade products. Shop Now and Change the World!